Algeria-Spain Trade Freeze Continues Despite Banking Restrictions Lift

Nothing has apparently changed in the trade relations between Algeria and Spain. "The allegations circulated at the moment by certain media about a supposed backtracking of Algeria concerning its trade relations with Spain are erroneous, because no official information has been made public on this subject by the competent authorities or institutions," says the official Algerian agency APS.

In a note widely relayed on social networks on Thursday, the Association of Banks and Financial Institutions (ABEF) lifted its measure suspending domiciliations for transactions to and from Spain, but the Algerian authorities have made no official announcement about a possible lifting of the suspension of the treaty of friendship, good neighborliness and cooperation with Spain, decided on June 8, let alone a resumption of trade exchanges.

"Decisions concerning financial and commercial issues that commit the State are taken in the Council of Ministers, by the Ministry of Finance or by the Bank of Algeria and are announced through official channels. Economic decisions, in particular those related to Algeria’s relations with its trade partners, fall under the exclusive prerogatives of the State, and not of professional organizations" such as the ABEF, specifies the APS.